CVE-2022-0018
An information exposure vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect app on Windows and MacOS where the credentials of the local user account are sent to the GlobalProtect portal when the Single Sign-On feature is enabled in the GlobalProtect portal configuration. This product behavior is intentional and poses no security risk when connecting to trusted GlobalProtect portals configured to use the same Single Sign-On credentials both for the local user account as well as the GlobalProtect login. However when the credentials are different, the local account credentials are inadvertently sent to the GlobalProtect portal for authentication. A third party MITM type of attacker cannot see these credentials in transit. This vulnerability is a concern where the GlobalProtect app is deployed on Bring-your-Own-Device (BYOD) type of clients with private local user accounts or GlobalProtect app is used to connect to different organizations. Fixed versions of GlobalProtect app have an app setting to prevent the transmission of the user's local user credentials to the target GlobalProtect portal regardless of the portal configuration. This issue impacts: GlobalProtect app 5.1 versions earlier than GlobalProtect app 5.1.10 on Windows and MacOS; GlobalProtect app 5.2 versions earlier than GlobalProtect app 5.2.9 on Windows and MacOS This issue does not affect GlobalProtect app on other platforms.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| paloaltonetworks / globalprotect | 5.1 | 5.1.10 |
| paloaltonetworks / globalprotect | 5.2 | 5.2.9 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.